In December last year I reported RIGHT HERE that the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is looking at the possibility of coming to South Africa as well as other countries - that has now been confirmed and that process is continuing.
''We are exploring opportunities for additional OWN services in multiple locations in Australia and South Africa. Stay tuned!,'' said Oprah Winfrey's Harpo production company in December and Discovery that distributes the channel - without mentioning specific countries - now says it's indeed the case.
It's clear that South Africa is a prime candidate. Both MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's (ODM) are aware of OWN and have looked at the channel, Oprah's private girls' school The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls is in South Africa, South Africa is the only country in the world outside of America with it's own version of O, The Oprah Winfrey magazine, and The Oprah Winfrey Show is a top viewership getter on SABC3.
Discovery, co-owner and distributor in the OWN venture, says discussions are underway with distributors in TV markets outside of America and Canada where OWN has been shown since the beginning of the year. ''We're confident there are markets it will do well in," said Mark Hollinger, who heads up Discovery's international business, as quoted by Reuters. ''We're confident there will be an international launch of the channel."
